Daria Khristova nee Chernenko
Department Director
Property from a distinguished private collection
Lot 94*
A hardstone figure of a bourgeoise (Meshchanka)Fabergé, possibly Derbyshev, 1913
height: 15cm (5 7/8in).
height: 15cm (5 7/8in).
4 June 2014, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £1,202,500 inc. premium
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A hardstone figure of a bourgeoise (Meshchanka)
Fabergé, possibly Derbyshev, 1913
depicted in upright stance clutching red bundle in right hand, the portly figure composed of a white quartzite oversized coat with black onyx fur trimming, a lapis lazuli kerchief, jasper skirt, Kalgan jasper valenki, purpurine bundle in opal hand and opal face set with cabochon eyes; underfoot incised 'C. Faberge' and dated '1913'
height: 15cm (5 7/8in).
depicted in upright stance clutching red bundle in right hand, the portly figure composed of a white quartzite oversized coat with black onyx fur trimming, a lapis lazuli kerchief, jasper skirt, Kalgan jasper valenki, purpurine bundle in opal hand and opal face set with cabochon eyes; underfoot incised 'C. Faberge' and dated '1913'
height: 15cm (5 7/8in).
Footnotes
Provenance
Nobel family
Christie's Geneva, November 30, 1982, lot 287
Purchased at Wartski, 1982, by private collectors
Thence by descent
Literature
V. V. Skurlov, K. Faberzhe i ego prodolzhateli: kamnereznye figurki 'Russkie tipy'/ Valentin Skurlov, Tatiana Faberzhe, Viktor Iliukhin; kollektivnaia monografiia pod obshchei redaktsiei Valentina Skurlova, St. Petersburg, 'Liki Rossii', 2009, p.79, fig. 48
Fabergé genre figures incorporating a wide variety of hardstones were a rarefied version of the porcelain figurines popularised by the Gardner Manufactory in the 19th century. Russian characters adapted from print prototypes included painted ceramic caricatures of street vendors, dancers, drunks, and 'types Russes' immortalised in their national costumes. Fabergé took these a step further and capitalised on the firm's access to native minerals from Siberia and the Urals creating a series of approximately fifty figures. The colours and striations of each stone were considered for each part then fitted, glued and polished to create a seamless whole.
By 1913, the date of The Bourgeoise, the figures were made in St. Petersburg under the supervision of Henrik Wigström, possibly by the stone carving master Peter Mikhailovich Derbyshev who was active in the Fabergé firm from 1910-1914. It was said that at this time a type of porous opal, sometimes termed cachalong, was favoured for use in faces as they could be carved in detail. Figures created for the Nobel family tended to feature this porcelain-like stone for the faces.
Emanuel Nobel, a prominent Swedish industrialist based in Russia owned the largest collection of stone figures before 1914 and was one of the firm's most important clients. Many of the known figures were in this collection including the figure of the bourgeoise woman carrying a purpurine parcel dated 1913.